ALICANTE is gearing up for the start of the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race yachting event on October 11.
The programme of events began this week with the official launch of the two Telefónica yachts – Azul and Negro – at the port on Tuesday.
King Juan Carlos’s daughters, Infantas Elena and Cristina, visited the port to christen the vessels with the traditional smashing of the champagne bottle. On this occasion the bottle came in the form of non-alcoholic beer, a bottle of which was smashed on each yacht.
The competing teams are finishing the final details of their pavilions, which have been put up opposite the Melia Alicante hotel.
Following its opening tonight (Friday), organisers are expected a million people will visit the Volvo Ocean Race ‘village’ where approximately 40 different events will take place daily.
A replica of the Nao Victoria, used by Juan Sebastián Elcano on the first around-the-world voyage in the 16th century will be moored near the village.
Hotels in Alicante city are practically fully booked for the sail-off day.
FIVE THOUSAND BOATS
More than 5,000 boats are expected to be moored and sailing around the port area on October 11 to see the fleet off on their around-the-world race.
To ensure everything goes smoothly, more than 300 volunteers will be assisting visitors and team members from today until October 11.
Security is another major concern. From today, 1,500 National Police officers, 400 Guardia Civil and 200 regional police will add to the entire local police force in Alicante to guarantee nothing gets out of control.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that Alicante is likely to be the start of the prestigious race again in 2011. Local and regional authorities believe an official announcement will be made by King Juan Carlos or Prince Felipe when they visit the city.
AROUND THE WORLD
The Volvo Ocean race 2008-09 will conclude in St Petersburg, Russia, in June 2009. The teams will have sailed more than 37,000 nautical miles of the world’s most treacherous seas via Cape Town, Kochi, Singapore, Qingdao, around Cape Horn to Rio de Janeiro, Boston, Galway, Goteborg and Stockholm.
Each of the seven entries has a sailing team of 11 professional crewmen. The race requires utmost skill, physical endurance and competitive spirit as they race day and night for more than 30 days at a time on some of the legs.
Source Costa Blanca News